Perfectionism and Optimism

William G. McLoughlin defines American pietism as "the belief that every individual is himself responsible for deciding the rightness or wrongness of every issue (large or small) in terms of a higher moral law; that he must make this decision the moment he is confronted with any question in order to prevent any complicity with evil; and having made his decision, he must commit himself to act upon it at once". This definition is central to McLoughlin's article Pietism and the American Character. I have to agree that McLoughlin that this definition of pietism identifies with many Americans today. We, as American citizens, are constantly preoccupied with right and wrong, with perfectionism. We consider a higher moral law when we vote for our representatives, when we raise our children, and even when we choose how to spend our free time. McLoughlin suggests that America is not so much the land of the free, but rather the land of the perfectionists. We strive for equality and a society of intellectual individuals and punish any criminals that present themselves as obstacles to this greater goal, that break our moral code. Interestingly, American perfectionism does not consist in attention to detail, but rather a constant change and optimism for the future. We do not allow the "hardening of anything into custom" because they "retain too much of the imperfect present or past". This is strongly related to the ideas put forth by Walt Whitman in Democratic Vistas. Optimism is a universal characteristic of Americans and always will be.